New F1 Wing Tests

The FIA announced yesterday (coincidentally AFTER the race) that they reserve the right to introduce tougher wing deflection tests in order to catch those teams who’s wing construction is not within the spirit of the rules. The weights used to test for wing flexibility may be doubled in order to catch teams who have been clever enough to pass the FIA tests so far, but have still exploited flexibility in racing and qualifying to improve performance. I.e. the wings did not flex more than 10mm when 50kg is attached to the end-plates (as per FIA test), yet in the practice sessions in Hungary the Red Bull’s front wing could be seen nearly touching the ground (indicating the forces are far greater than those used by the FIA).

If I was a cynic I would think it is very convenient that nothing was done by the FIA in the last two races, the result being all the top teams and drivers in this year’s championship being far closer in the standings and making the rest of the season more exciting.

It will be interesting to see how much of Red Bull’s dominance will now be removed come the next race after the summer break!